The invention relates to chairs of a type known as lounge chairs or loungers, where the chair supports the full body length of the user and is foldable so as to be able to support the user in either the seated or prone position. In particular, this invention relates to such chairs which provide an opening situated near the end of the chair adapted to support the user's head so that the user's face can be positioned in the opening when the user is lying face down.
Lounge chairs for supporting a person in either a prone or seated position and which have body support sections joined in a hinged manner to allow adjustment of the relative angle of adjacent support sections are known, and typically consist of a generally horizontal frame supported above a surface by legs, where a fabric or mesh material, in solid sheets or multiple strips, is stretched across the frame. The frame is hinged at a point roughly one third of the way from the head supporting end, and also sometimes at a point roughly one third of the way from the feet supporting end, so that the head and/or feet supporting sections can be variably angled relative to the horizontal middle section. This allows the device to be adjusted to provide relatively vertically oriented support to the user's back when a seated position is desired, with the head support section adjustable incrementally toward horizontal or beyond to provide the desired angle of support in a reclining or prone position. The hinged sections also allow the chair to be folded into a generally flat and compact configuration for transport or storage. A known improvement to the basic lounge chair is the provision of an opening in the head support section of the chair which is configured to receive in a supporting manner the face of a user lying in the face down prone position. This allows the user to relax in the face down position without having to turn the head to either side, and precludes hyper-extension of the neck when reading, since the book can be placed beneath the chair opening. Examples of such a chair is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,606,086 to Rowland, which provides a drawstring face opening, U.S. Pat. No. 3,897,102 to Lemaire, which provides openings for the arms as well as for the face, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,222,779 to Johnson, which provides lateral indentations for the arms. Although the head supporting sections of these devices are not shown to be extended past horizontal, other chairs are known which allow such an adjustment, which is preferred when in the face down prone position to reduce or relieve stress to the spine. An example of a chair having a head support section for the face down prone position at a fixed angle below horizontal is U.S. Pat. No. 5,297,850 to Guleserian.
It is an object of this invention to provide an improved folding lounge chair which is orthopedically superior to the known designs for lounge chairs, where the chair has an opening for the face and where the head support section is adjustable below horizontal. It is a further object to provide a lounge chair with removable and adjustable pad members which can be properly positioned to provide the most beneficial support and to create fulcrum points to relieve stress to the spine at various chosen locations from the neck to the lower back by positive traction effects. It is a further object to provide particularly configured support pads, both in size and shape, which work in conjunction with the face opening and the adjustable head support section to maximize comfort and therapeutic effect. These and other possible objects are to be accomplished as set forth in the descriptions below.